Good morning. India’s Covid nightmare continues to dominate the headlines, while Josh Frydenberg promises more budgetary stimulus, and a legend of the moon landing dies. These stories and much more, in Thursday’s morning mail.
India’s official death toll from the coronavirus has passed 200,000 after its worst day yet of the pandemic – recording 360,960 new cases, and with 3,293 deaths reported. The capital, Delhi, remains under lockdown, with crematoriums reportedly running out of wood and forced to assemble makeshift funeral pyres on public land. The real death toll is feared to be considerably higher, with authorities accused of skewing the data to downplay the scale of the tragedy. The B1617 variant that appears to be driving India’s deadly second wave has been called a “variant of interest”, a lesser level than the “variants of concern” from Brazil, the UK and South Africa.
The Australian government is facing criticism over its snap ban on all flights from India, as experts point to data that suggests the nation has fewer Covid-19 cases per capita than either the US or the UK did during their respective pandemic peaks. A professor of infectious diseases at the Australian National University, Peter Collignon, says the government “needs to rethink blanket bans”, as such actions could force stranded Australians to face greater coronavirus risks in a country where hospital access isn’t guaranteed. Another leading epidemiologist has called the move “an act out of fear”, calling on the Morrison government “to ensure there is no misconception the ban is in any way racist”.
The federal treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has affirmed his commitment to expansionary economic measures, ruling out any “sharp pivots towards austerity” in the upcoming federal budget. The focus of the 11 May framework with be on “transitioning the economy” rather than worrying about bottom-line repair, with further fiscal stimulus suggested. “Against the backdrop of a highly uncertain global economic environment, it is prudent to continue to support the economy and ensure that our recovery is locked in,” he said during a pre-budget speech in Canberra. The federal government had pumped around $70bn directly into the Australian economy during the September 2020 quarter, but that amount has more than halved during the March quarter.
Australia
Sydney house prices have risen to their highest levels inside a quarter in nearly three decades, with record-low interest rates fuelling a surge in mortgage lending. Prices also rocketed in Canberra, Adelaide and Hobart, with financial regulators tipped to intervene.
Trucks driving between Sydney and Brisbane could use swappable electric batteries that can be changed in just three minutes under a bold new scheme that eliminates recharge waits of up to 12 hours, while also heavily reducing carbon emissions.
The Great Barrier Reef could receive a two-decade stay of devastation, scientists have suggested, if a combination of “life support” interventions are adopted, in addition to meaningful climate action. “Cloud brightening” and better management of coral-eating starfish are two of the measures.
The world
The family of a California man have accused police of causing his death after body camera footage from arresting officers showed police pinning him on the ground for more than five minutes, during which he lost consciousness.
An Australian businessman detained in Iraq was assured by the Australian embassy he was safe to travel, his family have alleged. Robert Pether, a mechanical engineer who travelled from Dubai to work on a project to build Iraq’s Central Bank, was arrested three weeks ago and is being held in solitary confinement.
Nearly 30 million people across the Sahel region are expected to require humanitarian assistance during 2021 – a 52% increase on just two years ago as poverty, the climate emergency and armed conflicts have dramatically increased chronic food insecurity in nations such as Chad, Niger and Mali.
Michael Collins, the third astronaut on the original Apollo 11 moon landing mission, has died aged 90. Dubbed the “forgotten astronaut”, in the shadow of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, Collins remained on the craft as the others landed.
Recommended reads
“I’ve been together with my partner for 15 years … I don’t know if I’m falling out of love or if I’m experiencing some kind of midlife crisis.” That’s the question for advice columnist and philosopher Eleanor Gordon-Smith this week. “I think it’s very common for us to paste our restless discontent with life on to the nearest thing that isn’t us. We blame our location, our spouse, our job, when in fact our malaise is our own and will follow us even if we quit our jobs and leave our families and move to Mexico.” But it boils down to one key question: “Whether you want your relationship to feel different, or whether you want a different relationship.”
Rent prices might be falling and inflation is at record lows, but it’s hardly a great market for low-income households. According to a latest affordability survey, Greg Jericho reports, just three of 74,266 properties available on the Australian rental market were suitable for a person on jobseeker payments. “The reality is not much better for those on either the aged pension, the parenting payment, or disability support payment. It is really only until you get to the minimum wage that you see more than 1% of properties being affordable and appropriate.”
Cameron Wilson is paid to write about the internet. So you can imagine our delight when he agreed to help curate this week’s 10 funniest things on the internet. And whether it’s Barnaby Joyce tweeting about urinals, unexpected shoutouts to Narrabri, or your mate who always brings up “the grink”, this week holds many tasty offerings.
Listen
They’ve been banned by three Australian states in the past year, but LGBTQ conversion practices remain incredibly harmful, and surprisingly legal, in many parts of the country. On this episode of Full Story, Laura Murphy-Oates examines the campaign to outlaw them nationwide.
Full Story
The ongoing harm caused by LGBTQ conversion practices in Australia
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Paris Saint-Germain have taken an early lead during the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Manchester City, after Marquinhos’ header put the home side in front. Follow the latest in our live blog.
England captain and Tottenham talisman Harry Kane has put the club on notice, expressing his frustration that the London club was not competing for “the biggest prizes”. The boyhood Spurs fan is under contract until mid 2024 but the public comments could attract the attention of rivals.
Media roundup
Australia has been accused of being on the wrong side of a messy dispute over global access to Covid-19 patents, reports the Sydney Morning Herald, as India and South Africa lead a push for the WTO to temporarily waive vaccine access until global herd immunity is achieved. The federal government is proposing a new taxpayer-funded gas-fired power plant in NSW unless the state’s energy companies move to boost production, the ABC writes. And a new national school curriculum will promote maths and science at the expense of the humanities, according to the Australian, with an emphasis on “real world” knowledge. Aboriginal history will also be promoted, at the expense of classical ancient history.
And if you’ve read this far …
It’s been the subject of fierce protest for years but Canada’s Trans Mountain oil pipeline has finally been and activists have an unlikely ally to thank for it: hummingbirds. The discovery of an Anna’s hummingbird nest inside a tree felled during the project’s construction has put the skids on the project for four months. Managers remain adamant the $10bn pipeline will proceed but conservationists hope to build on the temporary victory.
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